Alarm bells are ringing in Lyon. Of all the players they recruited in the last transfer window, the highest expectations were placed on the shoulders of 30-year-old Switzerland international Xherdan Shaqiri, who arrived amid much fanfare from Liverpool. But he’s proven to be an underwhelming addition, to say the least.Seven appearances in Ligue 1 and three more in the Europa League yielded just a single goal and plenty of frustration. The attacker seems to be unhappy at the coach Peter Bosz’s decision to play him out on the right wing, a position that’s not Shaqiri’s favourite.Xherdan Shaqiri has been a disappointing signing at Lyon so far, and his price tag and star status threaten young stars like Rayan Cherki from getting consistent minutes. Still very early but he’s been really predictable in attack and never takes on players with his right foot.— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) October 30, 2021 The former Liverpool and Bayern player certainly has enough quality to star in the French championship, but so far we haven’t seen any of his ability put to good use. And while you could always blame a player for not trying hard enough – you simply have to ask the simple question in this case: why did Lyon even recruit the player that doesn’t fit in their coach’s plans?Extremely left-footed, Shaqiri doesn’t make much difference on the right wing because he stops and cuts in so he could control the ball or deliver a pass with his left. That makes him rather predictable. Defenders have already seen him through and have no real problems keeping the Swiss quiet.Thursday, 20.45: (1.43) Olympique Lyon (5.00) Sparta Praha (7.75)The Serbian-born attacker prefers to play in the middle, just before the strikers and perform his magic there, rather than on the wing. But there is a crowd in the centre of Lyon’s attack, with Brazilian playmaker Lucas Paqueta and French international Houssem Aouar all but guaranteed to start every match.Time is running out for the Swiss and he could be benched soon in favour of Moussa Dembele. It’s no wonder Lyon’s season is already in danger of fizzing out. Their goal is to qualify for next season’s Champions League. To do that, they will have to finish third at least. It’s looking steep already for the club and their bemusing recruit Shaqiri.
